3·15 Gala Exposes "Miracle Drug" Exosome Chaos, Involved Enterprises Linked to Actual Controller Who is Berry Genomics Executive 「Focus on 3•15」

Why can the chaos surrounding AI and exosomes quickly spread by exploiting regulatory blind spots?

Our reporter (chinatimes.net.cn), Guo Yilin, Yu Na, Beijing

For China’s medical aesthetics industry, spring 2026 is particularly harsh. On March 15, CCTV’s 3.15 evening show once again uncovered the industry’s gray areas.

During the program, a substance called “exosomes,” described as a “万能” (all-purpose) liquid, appeared on camera. In the words of beauty influencers, it is the “darling of anti-aging”; in promotional manuals, it is called “black technology to reverse time”; but under undercover footage, Tan, the head of Jiebo Saier Biotechnology Co., Ltd., casually stuffs it into a handbag and delivers it to a high-end medical area of a hospital, where patients are waiting to be treated for epilepsy and kidney disease with “exosomes.”

This exposure not only peeled back the curtain on the “miracle cure” myth of exosomes but also revealed a hidden chain of interests linking “three-no” products to related individuals in publicly listed companies. It is reported that the companies involved include Haolin (Tianjin) Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Zhengzhou Yuan Chuang Gene Technology Co., Ltd., and Sichuan Jiebo Saier Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Among them, Zhengzhou Yuan Chuang Gene Technology’s actual controller, Zhao Hui, also holds a special identity—he is a current director of the A-share listed company Berry Genomics.

In response, Shi Tianyi, an analyst from Hejun Consulting’s Medical and Healthcare Division, told Huaxia Times that this exposure reveals deep-seated industry problems: behind the chaos of exosomes is the precise exploitation of regulatory blind spots through pseudoscientific concepts. From “three-no” products to hidden links with listed companies, it exposes risks driven by industry chain interests. This warns the industry that any cutting-edge concept must adhere to scientific evidence and legal compliance; regulators must penetrate corporate veils and enforce主体责任 (main responsibility).

Exosome Scam

In fact, the exosome scam is not about product quality but a collusion between upstream producers and downstream medical aesthetic clinics.

“Exosomes have been really popular in the past two years,” said a plastic surgeon who wished to remain anonymous. In medicine, “exosomes” refer to nano-sized vesicles secreted by stem cells and other cells, with diameters of only 30–150 nanometers, carrying proteins, RNA, and other biological information. While research on their roles in tissue repair and immune regulation has advanced recently, these are still confined to laboratory stages.

“In the medical and academic fields, their mechanisms, clinical testing, and other medical procedures are not yet clearly defined; most of it remains at the academic and theoretical research stage,” explained Yang Yue, a researcher at Tsinghua University School of Pharmacy, during the 3.15 program.

According to CCTV, a product called “Qingcheng” exosomes is selling wildly in aesthetic clinics, prominently labeled as “Class II medical device.” But when reporters contacted the manufacturer, Haolin (Tianjin) Biotechnology Co., Ltd., staff gave a shocking answer: “The current certificates we have are for collagen. In the classification of medical devices, there is no category for exosomes.”

On June 10, 2025, the National Medical Products Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) issued a draft titled “Scope, Classification, and Definitions of Advanced Therapeutic Drugs,” which officially incorporated drug regulation, requiring GMP production and clinical trial verification to end industry gray areas and push China’s exosome treatments onto the international standard track.

In this context, companies seeking to bypass strict approval for exosome injections choose the simplest “certificate-faking” method: using an old collagen certificate to “dress up” exosomes with a new label, allowing them to flow into consumers’ bloodstreams openly. Even more outrageous, in a southwestern city, Tan showed reporters her “medical-grade exosome frozen raw liquid.” The tube contained no manufacturing info, approval number, or ingredient list—typical “three-no” products.

Facing CCTV’s skepticism, Tan remained calm and instead threw up a legal “firewall”: “Exosomes are called technology, not a product. We can only provide technical services, so you avoid all legal risks.”

In Sichuan Tianfu New Area, Tan took this act to the extreme. Under undercover footage, she claimed exosomes could cure hundreds of diseases and revealed industry “rules”—since the company lacks medical qualifications, injections must be done in cooperation with medical institutions, known industry-wide as “borrowing a platform to substitute.” A single treatment used 600 billion particles, charging customers up to 60,000 yuan.

At 9 p.m. on March 15, reporters visited Jiebo Saier’s office in Tianfu New Area, Sichuan. Several police cars and market supervision vehicles were on standby. The building was sealed off; although the 18th floor was brightly lit, it was deserted. The Chengdu Market Supervision Bureau later announced that the involved company was ordered to cease operations, and all related products and raw materials were sealed.

Meanwhile, a reporter pretending to be a buyer called Tan. Her tone shifted from confident to panicked: “We’re not selling anymore, we don’t sell, I don’t know anything… I don’t know what to do, I’ve never encountered this before.”

Berry Genomics’ “Connection”

For capital markets, there is no such thing as “confused.” Every muddled account can be clarified. The lie of exosomes is easily shattered by numbers.

Phoenix Finance’s “Company Research Institute” found that Haolin (Tianjin) Biotechnology, named by CCTV, is a major exosome supplier and has won procurement contracts from public hospitals like Tianjin First Central Hospital and Tianjin Haihe Hospital.

Even more absurd is Sichuan Jiebo Saier Biotechnology. Tianyancha shows that this company, founded in May 2024 with a registered capital of 10 million yuan, had zero employees insured in 2024. A company that doesn’t even pay social insurance for staff is injecting “anti-aging miracle drugs” in high-end hospital areas.

“This is typical of a makeshift operation,” said an anonymous investor in the medical aesthetics industry. “The hype around exosomes these years has attracted not researchers but schemers. They’re not after technological barriers but information asymmetry.”

Among the companies named, Zhengzhou Yuan Chuang Gene Technology stands out. Tianyancha shows that its chairman and actual controller, Zhao Hui, also holds another role—as a non-independent director of Berry Genomics (000710.SZ), listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

According to Berry Genomics’s executive resumes, Zhao Hui holds a Ph.D. from the Beijing Institute of Genomics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and was a postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, with a “scientist” halo. Yet, this academically distinguished scholar’s company, Yuan Chuang, is exposed to significant regulatory risks in its “exosome” business.

CCTV reports that a senior executive at Yuan Chuang admitted the company has engaged in sales related to exosome conditioning and treatment, but acknowledged that injection products carry great risks. To avoid regulation, these injections are not performed in the company itself. The China Patent Bulletin shows that many patents held by Yuan Chuang have been rejected, including methods related to immune cells and skin fibroblast preparation, with Zhao Hui’s name appearing among inventors.

This connection has thrust Berry Genomics, a listed company, into the spotlight. Although its main business is gene sequencing, seemingly unrelated to aesthetic exosome injections, Zhao Hui’s personal business conduct raises reputational concerns for the company.

Reviewing the financial reports of these named companies reveals more shocking details. Besides Jiebo Saier’s “ghost” operation with zero insured employees, Tianjin Chengxing Medical Beauty Clinic had only three insured employees in 2024, and two of its trademarks were rejected. Tianjin Hedong Meilai Medical Beauty Hospital was repeatedly sued for medical disputes and fined in 2025 for illegal advertising.

This is a typical game of bad money driving out good. In pursuit of high profits, a batch of “three-no” enterprises—lacking technology, qualifications, or R&D—use certificate-faking, false advertising, and platform borrowing to turn serious cell therapy into a lucrative scam.

A Sudden Halt in the Aesthetic Sector

Following the 3.15 exposure, the bubble of the exosome industry, which had inflated for years, was sharply burst.

On the night of March 15, Chengdu’s municipal and provincial authorities quickly formed a joint investigation team. The Chengdu Market Supervision Bureau announced that Jiebo Saier was ordered to cease operations, and all related products and raw materials were sealed.

Meanwhile, major platforms began “overnight removal.” The “Qianxinmei” app on Xinyong Anxinmei mini-program, which previously sold 3ml of Qiaoluo Shi AR exosomes for 999 yuan, was taken down overnight. Xinyong Anxinmei responded: “All exosome products have been removed.” Similar actions were taken on Meimei App, JD.com, Taobao, Meituan, and others—searches for “exosomes” now return only “no related products found.”

In an instant, this once-hot industry seemed to have never existed.

But for consumers who have already received exosome injections, the harm is irreversible. On the Black Cat Complaint platform, numerous complaints have flooded in: “I only had exosomes, and my whole face got infected, severe acne.” “I got injected and had an allergic reaction, my face was ruined for three months.”

Cao Wei, director of legal affairs at the China Association of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery, said that this 3.15 exposure reveals a deeper problem: the “second-class medical device” license has become an industry rule of thumb. Compared to the strict regulation of Class III medical devices, the lenient thresholds for Class II devices have allowed many conceptual products to thrive. “Not just exosomes, but also stem cells, growth factors, and imitation GLP-1 are following this path.”

From a global perspective, the scientific value of exosomes is undeniable. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global exosome market is expected to reach approximately $233 million in 2025 and grow to $2.346 billion by 2034, with a compound annual growth rate of 29.27%. In North America, research on exosomes as drug delivery vectors is entering a rapid clinical translation phase.

China is not lagging behind in this global race, but the problem is that while academia debates standardization for separation and purification, the commercial side is eager to push it into beauty clinics.

The 3.15 exposure serves as a wake-up call for the entire industry: in life sciences, there are no shortcuts. Companies relying on certificate-faking, platform borrowing, and exaggerated promotion to deceive consumers will eventually be swept into the trash heap of history. For those truly dedicated to R&D, this storm may be a process of authentic cleansing.